Think what would happen if you took a hippy dress and a really glamorous 1980s Dallas dress. Now imagine if they had a baby..."
This is the sort of talk my husband must put up with when we get together with my old chum Victor, the futurologist. Victor was describing the "It" dress for 2009. He predicts trends not just in fashion but all sorts of design fields from household products and gadgets, to furniture, cars and nightclub decor.
Although what he's saying initially sounds bonkers, invariably he is spot on. He is a marvel at putting into words those trends and feelings about clothes or spending habits or the environment that are obvious, and yet we are oblivious to.
He scours the world looking at anything from student art shows and emerging architecture to spores in a science lab. He picks up on music - you name it, he's clocked it, long before anyone else. And he's not just my friend. He's a friend to a great many fashion designers whose names I dare not mention.
I've always found it fascinating the way catwalk trends tally up and designers seem to be all on the same wavelength. I appreciate that fashion is a sort of mirror for our times, but Victor tells me the real reason great fashion minds think alike is the fact that a vast and highly organised forecasting and predicting industry lurks behind the designer clothing industry. Designers drink from the same well, as it were, visiting fabric and textile trade exhibitions that advise on moods, shapes and influences.
It's not enough to be innovative or a whizz at cutting. If you can't guess what women will want to wear in six months, you are finished in this game.
Take Vivienne Westwood, the woman responsible for introducing virtually every new trend of the late 20th century, from underwear as outerwear to sportswear as streetwear. She has long been accused of being too far ahead, rarely benefiting from her own near psychic fashion talent and leaving others to pick at her ideas and take them mainstream.
Victor is, in a way, even more important. He is at the epicentre of the fashion food chain. He throws the first thought. The one he threw me the other night is helping me - slightly - unravel complex trends for spring/summer 2009. He believes "we are in the grip of mixed era and mixed culture fashion. It's no longer simply about wearing Eighties or Nineties. So you wear the power suit jacket with the hippy skirt and biker boots. BUT, and here is the catch, you have got to know what jacket to go with what skirt to pull it off."
Having spent this week writing a nostalgic piece about Eighties fashions, I'd argue that even this is simplistic. I had forgotten how much can happen in a decade. The influences currently flying around are a lot to do with Anthony Price circa London, 1985, as well as Norma Kamali in New York in the early Nineties. Dresses are a mixture of Azzedine Alaia, Claude Montana, Herve Leger and Thierry Mugler, here, there and everywhere in 1981. Anyone who has ever found fashion mind-boggling is going to find next summer tricky, unless of course they are a clued-up futurologist chasing the zeitgeist and coming up with intriguing words and theories to describe why it's happening and what will - visually - be the result.
But should it be this hard? I feel like I'm having to learn my French irregular verbs all over again. I know it's going to make perfect sense, only it doesn't now.
What is the sense in analysing a fashion trend? I'd compare this to when the 19th century English poet Keats accused the physicist Sir Isaac Newton of "unweaving the rainbow" - destroying the beauty of the rainbow by explaining it.
When Marc Jacobs was asked to name the inspiration behind his spring/summer 2009 show, he refused. "Who cares what it's about? What matters is my customers like it." Precisely. Now run that Dallas baby thing by me again, Victor. There's a dear.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Winners
Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea
Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona
Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Best National Team of the Year: Italy
Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello
Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)
Player Career Award: Ronaldinho
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The specs
Engine: 2.3-litre, turbo four-cylinder
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Power: 300hp
Torque: 420Nm
Price: Dh189,900
On sale: now
Company%20Profile
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Jebel Ali Dragons 26 Bahrain 23
Dragons
Tries: Hayes, Richards, Cooper
Cons: Love
Pens: Love 3
Bahrain
Tries: Kenny, Crombie, Tantoh
Cons: Phillips
Pens: Phillips 2
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
SPECS
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
